Chapter 518: Huliang in the painting

Yes, these things in front of me are not illusions, but real ones!

What truly shocked and trembled people was not the splendor and brilliance of such a scene, but the waves of pressure emanating from these things.

If an illusion is the optical and auditory beauty of the senses, then the real things in front of us give a deeper, more inherent beauty, closer to the world itself.

It was a shock that transcended the senses, even aesthetics.

Li Qi once used a metaphor to describe this feeling.

A perfect mathematical formula, no matter what runes or language it is written in, whether it is drawn, carved, or spoken, it doesn't matter.

These are just carriers; as long as you can understand the True Knowledge within the carrier, you can experience the breathtaking beauty within that formula, feel the existence of the Dao in the world, and thus be greatly shocked.

Because a formula is not a simple sensory stimulus, but a description of the essence of the world, which is the ‘Dao’, to others.

Such a beautiful scene, coupled with the constantly blossoming and expanding Dao Resonance, would definitely make everyone who arrived here feel a breathtaking sensation from the inside out.

It’s truly impressive; such a place could probably not be created by anyone below the second rank. Which Great Power is so idle? Because these things have no practical meaning whatsoever; they are entirely for aesthetics.

The Golden Dais was not overly ornate and was very simple, in a style favored by humanity. The Star-Mansion Array was not managed at all; its appearance was simply how it turned out when made. Its star-river shape was purely accidental. No one cared what the Star-Mansion Array looked like; as long as it worked, letting it exist in its natural state was enough.

But the Daoist sect’s creation, this was truly and completely for aesthetic purposes.

“Shui Bi, do you know about this? Which Great Power had such an idea?” Li Qi asked Shen Shuibi beside him again.

“I’m not sure, but it’s understandable to arrange it beautifully; it’s good as long as they’re happy,” Shen Shuibi shook her head; she wasn’t very surprised.

It’s good to like what you like. Some people love to sing, some love to dance, some love to paint, so there must be some who love architectural art. Everyone does what they like; there’s no need to interfere with others.

As long as your hobby doesn't infringe on others' freedom, there's nothing to criticize. You can do anything you want. This is Shen Shuibi's view on external matters.

A typical reclusive type.

Li Qi was naturally accustomed to her attitude and shook his head slightly.

She is only curious about things that interest her; otherwise, she ignores everything, immersed in her own miniature heaven and earth. How should I put it… it’s not wrong, I guess.

It just makes her seem perpetually dazed, and sometimes overly indifferent.

It’s not exactly indifference, though; she doesn’t intentionally ignore others. She genuinely doesn’t care and isn’t bothered to look.

She’s quite cute, actually.

“Boss, we’ve arrived. Should we stroll around Hulang first, or go directly to Penglai from here?” The Old Horse descended, landing on the port of Hulang.

Hulang still has a port, but it's not limited to landing there; in fact, you can land anywhere. The port is just more convenient, a large open space where it's not easy to scrape anything upon landing.

If you insist on landing forcefully elsewhere, it's not impossible; you just bear the consequences. It doesn't matter; there are no law enforcement agencies here.

Everyone comes to the mountains to cultivate Immortality; you can do whatever you want, no one cares.

If you lack public morality, evil people will naturally deal with evil people. You will eventually provoke someone you cannot afford to provoke.

Li Qi understood this principle, and he was the type who would honestly wait for a red light at an empty intersection late at night, so he naturally landed at the port.

Stepping onto the ground, Li Qi stomped on the Immortal island.

It was unremarkable. Only after actually landing did he realize it was indeed ordinary. Although the decorations were imposing and beautiful, they had no practical significance whatsoever.

In other words, unlike the automation of humanity, the scenery here is purely for viewing, even for ‘aesthetics,’ which affects its original function. For example, stairs are designed to be grand but are twisted and turn, making them much longer to walk if actually used.

“The purpose of this is truly… pure. Building this thing is a nuisance,” Li Qi couldn’t help but complain a bit.

“It is indeed very inconvenient. It’s better to fly over ourselves,” Shen Shuibi also noticed the purpose of the nearby facilities, guessing that the Great Power who built them originally only focused on artistic beauty.

As for practicality… everyone here is a cultivator, what practicality do they need? If you can't fly, can't you jump?

If you can't do either, it means you don't deserve to be here. Sorry, no one will help you.

Speaking of which, the Daoist sect’s indifference to the outside world… sometimes seems quite… something.

“Let’s go, we’ll take a stroll around Hulang.” It was Shen Shuibi who, at this moment, pulled Li Qi along. The two of them ascended into the air together, not taking the stairs, but flying into the heart of Hulang.

Li Qi naturally nodded. Just like in Shaman God Mountain and the cities of humanity, there would certainly be unique local customs and traditions, and he was already eager to see them.

The Old Horse shrunk to the size of a loach, quickly caught up with Li Qi, and perched on his shoulder.

Now it was the Dragon riding the Human.

Hand in hand with Shen Shuibi, they walked into the center of Hulang’s magnificent city.

However, upon truly entering, both of them were stunned. Li Qi then discovered an even bigger problem.

Inside, it was truly purely for ‘art.’

All the houses existed, but no one lived in them. Clearly, the purpose of these houses was not for dwelling, but for viewing.

Li Qi quickly pulled a passerby aside and asked, “Daoist Brother, may I ask—”

But before he could finish, he saw that the passerby completely ignored him, didn't even look, and walked straight ahead.

Li Qi frowned, thinking the other person was just indifferent. Then he grabbed another Daoist Child. The Daoist Child’s cultivation was lower, so Li Qi displayed his pressure. Surely, even if they were indifferent, they would stop and listen to him now?

However, that Daoist Child still ignored Li Qi, not even affected by the pressure, and simply walked away.

Li Qi immediately unleashed his True Knowledge Dao Resonance!

An illusion?

However, after unleashing True Knowledge, the result True Knowledge fed back to him was very simple: these things were no different from the information of living people.

True Knowledge Dao Resonance is just a sense; it doesn’t make judgments. It only faithfully relays what it perceives to Li Qi.

Scanning these passersby and Immortal Beasts, the feedback Li Qi received was no different from usual: the same fluctuations, the same material composition. There was no problem in saying they were alive.

Li Qi immediately realized the problem and sped up, circling the surroundings quickly a few times.

Then, he finally reached a conclusion:

Here, none of the spirit pets, Immortal Beasts, or even the various passersby and Daoist Children, were alive!

No, it should be said that they were all alive, but they were actually made of clay, with only their form, no consciousness, no soul. Someone had simply used flesh and cells as raw Materials to create some automatically moving Puppets, purely for aesthetics.

However, these passersby, Daoist Children, and Immortal Beasts were integrated with the entire city, so the charm emanating from them was identical to that of real beings. Li Qi hadn’t even noticed it before.

Not even the True Knowledge Dao Resonance could see through it!

It truly lives up to being a city built by a third-rank Great Power. Although Li Qi dared not say it, the Dao Resonance within it was so sublime, it was absolutely beyond what a fourth-rank could achieve.

“What exactly is going on here…?” Li Qi murmured, unsure of where he had come.

Looking at the map, this was indeed Hulang, no mistake.

But how could Hulang be a dead city?

At this moment, Shen Shuibi pulled Li Qi and said to him, “Wait, we might have gone to the wrong place.”

“This isn’t Hulang?” Li Qi frowned.

“No, this is, but Hulang is so big, we might not have come to the right place, Old Horse, follow my direction.”

Shen Shuibi seemed to have figured something out, so she led Li Qi, forming a hand seal.

The Old Horse immediately and knowingly enlarged its body, carrying the two of them, and began to advance following Shen Shuibi’s spell guidance.

Li Qi, meanwhile, intently watched the rabbit decipher everything before them.

As a series of incantations were cast, the scenes before them suddenly began to shrink.

Yes, shrink.

“An illusion…? No, it’s not an illusion.” Li Qi shook his head. It was absolutely impossible for it to be an illusion.

With True Knowledge Dao Resonance and Information Stream Vision, he absolutely could not fall into any illusion. If it were merely a simple illusion, he was even confident he could see through a Heavenly Demon’s illusion.

In fact, he had actually done so.

So everything around him was absolutely real, not an illusion in any sense.

But Shen Shuibi’s expression didn’t seem to be under much pressure, so he would observe for a while.

As he thought this, the scenery gradually shrank, from magnificent, to ordinary, then to exquisite, and eventually even looked somewhat miniature.

Li Qi gradually realized that it wasn't the scenery shrinking, but himself growing larger!

He immediately realized what had just happened to him!

But before he could even react, he suddenly felt as if the world before his eyes had become ‘even clearer.’

Previously, it had already seemed like a movie filter had been applied, but now, it was as if he had directly jumped out of the screen!

Then, abruptly, he took a deep breath, feeling the world so clear. Unknowingly, the Old Horse had already arrived at another place, a dilapidated thatched hut. Here, it seemed to be suppressed by something, losing its ability to transform, and looked around in panic.

However, then, Li Qi turned his head to look.

He saw, behind him, the place from which they had just emerged.

That was, a painting.

The previous palaces, cities, all the flowers, buildings, landscapes, birds, beasts, fish, and insects, were lifelike and seemed ready to leap forth.

The brushstrokes within were vigorous and vibrant, appearing so real that observers felt a thrill in their hearts. Everything, no matter what it was, was painted so vividly it seemed on the verge of coming to life, truly a masterpiece among paintings.

Just now, Li Qi and the others were within this painting, unknowingly becoming a part of this magnificent artwork.

Looking around again—

A painting, a potted plant, a small boat hung up, a fishing rod, a straw raincoat, a table and a chair, a thatched hut—that was all.

Li Qi was astonished.

An Immortal holds mountains and rivers in their palm, and a painting on the wall contains Hulang.

That immense, magnificent city was Hulang’s… a painting. Was it merely a decorative item, or did that painting have some important purpose to fulfill?

A fleeting dream, nothing more. Suddenly looking back, one finds oneself merely performing a Daoist ritual in a snail shell, while the True Immortals are outside the painting.

“That was just now…” Li Qi savored the moment, getting off the Old Horse.

“There’s a Town Dragon Formation here. The Old Horse has lost its ability to transform. Let’s get out of this thatched hut first,” Shen Shuibi immediately interjected.

At the same time, she also knew Li Qi’s doubts. Without waiting for Li Qi to continue asking, she further explained, “There are Divine Spirits whose brushwork is unrestrained, completely breaking free from convention, weaving smoke into silk like willows, transforming flowers into spring mirrors, and countless paintings, passing down their fragrance for a thousand years. I suppose this is the kind of technique it is?”

Li Qi nodded after listening.

Shen Shuibi’s meaning was simple: “countless paintings, passing down their fragrance for a thousand years” meant that the authors of these paintings could depict Divine Spirits or True Immortal Buddhas so vividly that they could even use the portraits to receive sacrifices in place of these Great Powers. Sacrificing to these portraits would be no different from sacrificing to their true forms.

Such unparalleled painting skill, this must be its splendor, right? Li Qi and the others were already fifth-rank, yet they entered the painting unknowingly, believing themselves to be merely in Hulang.

At this moment, an Old Taoist walked in from outside, stroking his beard and laughing heartily, “Haha, you flatter me, you flatter me! It’s just that although this Old Taoist has a shallow understanding of painting, what I depict are merely clay and wooden Puppets. There’s still some distance to go before reaching the realm of bringing things to life with a brush, or making them real with a stroke.”

Li Qi and Shen Shuibi immediately bowed, and even the Old Horse lowered its head as well.

Being able to emerge from the painting indicated that the other party had no ill intentions. Moreover… from the subtle clues of entering and exiting the painting, the two of them could also determine that the other party clearly hadn’t put them into the painting; they must have inadvertently entered it.

After bowing, Li Qi immediately and skillfully said, “The scenes painted by Senior are ever-changing; observers feel as if they are truly there. The mountains and rivers are grand and imposing, arranging a thousand-mile scene within the painting. The bones of the cliffs and peaks, the overlapping mountain ranges, and the textures of the trees are all exquisite. Looking at the various Immortal Beasts and spirit pets, their hooves and sparse fur are all rendered with lifelike form, especially full of vigor. The spine of the city coils and sprawls, and the surging waves on the side are astonishing to behold. For such a painter to speak so humbly truly makes this Junior feel ashamed.”

“The Junior speaks very well, but whether one is humble or not, one knows oneself; one’s level is one’s level. By the way, who are you, and why did you mistakenly enter my painting?” the Old Taoist asked.

“I am Li Qi, and this is my wife, Shen Shuibi. We two happened to want to go to Hulang, but somehow entered the painting along the way. We hope Senior will forgive us,” Li Qi immediately replied.

As for Shen Shuibi, she usually played dead behind Li Qi in such situations. Communicating with outsiders had always been Li Qi’s job.

The Old Taoist heard Li Qi’s words, paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, and exclaimed in surprise, “Oh! I understand! You’re here to watch the Demonic Prince beat the Little Heavenly Master, aren’t you? Too many people have been coming lately, so I put the other side of the scroll near Hulang to block people. You actually weren’t blocked and even rushed into my painting?”